Signs
by Falcon Horus
Summary: Of misunderstandings, a lunchdate and kissing ... not necessarily in that order. KateTeyla


Author's Notes: Written for the 2008 edition of SG Rare Pairings on LJ. Beta'd by triciabyrne1978. And besides that I have nothing more to say other than enjoy.

Written For: altyronsmaker

Pairing: Teyla Emmagan/Kate Heightmeyer

Prompt:  
Three Things You Want To See: lunchdate, misunderstanding, kissing  
Three Things You Do NOT Want To See: bantos fighting, "my people,"  
dreams that need interpreting

* * *

Teyla politely dipped her head at the people she passed in the hallway. For once they had been on a mission where they had managed a promise of trade and friendship, and it hadn't even taken too much trouble to accomplish it. Dr. Zelenka cheerfully greeted her as he exited the transporter, a grin plastered on his face. She hit the dot nearest to her target location and stepped out on the other side of the city. There was no one around when she halted in front of the office door. Teyla brought her hand up to wave it across the chime and waited patiently for an answer that did not come. She tried two more times, and turned away disappointed. She hesitated on the spot a little, clasping her hands together in front of her, balancing on the balls of her feet. She looked left, right and then decided to go ahead and see if there was someone else she could have lunch with instead.

***//***

The cafeteria was buzzing with activity. People were coming in and walking out, talking amicably. There was laughter in one corner and loud clattering in another. Teyla worked her way up to the entrance, greeting several Athosians that came out, accompanied by several marines and Major Lorne. She figured they had been off-world together. She halted near the entrance, causing several scientists, who were right behind her, to bump into her. She half-turned to excuse herself, though most of her gaze remained on the duo sitting near the balcony doors. She remained standing there in the doorway, watching her team leader and best friend have lunch together. They were talking and smiling, and Teyla felt jealousy wriggle inside her as she noticed they were sharing a piece of the chocolate cake that was for dessert. She turned around disappointed, disappearing out of sight.

***//***

John sat back, watching the last of the chocolate cake disappear as Kate chewed down the last piece. He smiled as she made sure there was absolutely nothing left of it as she picked up every last crumb from the plate.

"Well, that was the last of it." She smiled as she took up her cup of coffee. "When's the Daedalus due next?"

"Not for five more weeks." John sighed.

"We've had worse." Kate replied, emptying her cup.

"Now..." John pushed his tray aside and leaned forward again. "...You said you needed help."

"Yes, I do. And I'm sure you can help me." Kate nodded, setting her cup aside.

"Then by all means… how can I be of service?"

***//***

Elizabeth wandered through the hallways and almost bumped into Teyla, who came around the corner, accompanied by Lieutenant Cadman. They were discussing strategies, as far as the diplomat could make out before she was halted by Laura.

"Dr. Weir?" Laura said as she turned, suddenly remembering something.

"Lieutenant." Elizabeth lowered her notepad and concentrated on the young marine.

"I was wondering if I could stay around Atlantis a little longer. I already filed a request with Colonel Sheppard."

Elizabeth smiled. "Then I'm sure I'll hear of it soon enough. As far as I am concerned you're doing a good job here, so I wouldn't see a reason not to keep you around."

"Thank you, ma'am." Laura grinned, satisfied, even if John still had to approve the request. She was confident that if Elizabeth was satisfied with her work than so would the colonel.

"Teyla." Elizabeth continued the moment the transporter behind them opened and a giggling psychologist and chuckling colonel stepped out. She briefly turned to see them appear but her gaze was drawn to the reaction on the Athosian's face, which immediately changed from relaxed to tensed.

"Afternoon, ladies." John greeted cheerfully.

"Good afternoon, Colonel." Elizabeth smiled back, seeing several looks pass and being exchanged by everyone. Kate's smile had disappeared the moment she saw Teyla, and the latter had diverted her eyes to anywhere but the duo. Laura was frowning and Sheppard was just ignoring the awkwardness.

"Lieutenant, I reviewed your request and as far as I'm concerned you can stick around for another tour." He glanced at Elizabeth, who nodded. "That's settled then."

"Thank you, Sir." Laura smiled widely. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." She looked down at her watch. "I have a meeting to attend to."

"I have to go too. Ronon is waiting for me in the gym." John excused himself and disappeared around the corner.

"I hate to sound repetitive but I too have to get going." Kate smiled apologetically. "I have an appointment in ten minutes." She nodded and continued her way, leaving Teyla and Elizabeth in the middle of the hallway.

Elizabeth waited until Kate was out of range and then turned to Teyla. "Teyla?" The Athosian didn't respond. "Hey."

"I am sorry." She blinked and turned her attention on Elizabeth. "What?"

"Is something wrong?" She briefly touched the other woman's arm.

"No." Teyla shook her head. "I am fine. Everything is fine."

***//***

The Daedalus arrived with a cargo hold full of fresh supplies, a batch of new marines, a group of newly employed scientists and packages from home. Cadman had volunteered to oversee the arrival of the supplies and packages, and had asked Teyla if she wanted to accompany her and spent some quality time together. She had noticed the Athosian could do with a little distraction, now that she seemed to close herself off more and more from her friends. Laura suspected she knew the cause but wanted her suspicion confirmed and what better way than to ask the person herself about it.

Laura checked her list as several more crates were beamed down, crossing off items that were now delivered to the city. "So, how's it going? I heard Evan say it's been easy going off-world."

Teyla nodded, helping Chuck carry a rather large box to a waiting cart. "Yes, we have been very lucky."

"Thank you, Teyla." Chuck smiled as he rolled the cart away.

"Oh..." Laura walked up to another pile of boxes. "Have you heard the latest gossip yet?" She grinned excitedly. Teyla shook her head, as she followed the lieutenant. "Apparently there's something going on between Colonel Sheppard and Kate, a something of the romantic variety." Cadman glanced at Teyla to see how she would respond, but she didn't notice any visible signs of jealousy or notions that she actually cared what her team leader was up to in his spare time. "I thought you and Kate were best friends."

"We are." Teyla suddenly found the label of one of the boxes very interesting.

"You talk in your sleep, you know." Laura grinned as Teyla turned a nice shade of red.

"I have a sparring session with Ronon. I should go." Teyla turned and hastily left the room, cringing at Laura's laughter that followed her until the door closed behind her. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She started walking again but stopped as she heard familiar voices come her way. She ducked behind a few crates, feeling quite silly about spying on friends like that but she really didn't feel in the mood to meet them at that moment.

Teyla watched as the duo halted not far from where she was hiding. She couldn't see Kate's face as she was turned towards John, but she could definitely see his. He was smiling, like she hadn't seen him smile before.

"Did you get it?" Kate asked John, who nodded.

"Dr. Novak made sure it didn't get lost in traffic. You'll love it."

Teyla noticed how Sheppard pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Kate. Whatever he had given her disappeared into one of her pockets, without having been opened or inspected. She frowned confused as to why Kate wouldn't open his gift while he was standing there. Teyla's heart shattered an instant later as she witnessed Kate stepped closer to John and kissed him on the cheek. She turned away at once, feeling her world crashing down on her.

***//***

Several days passed since Teyla had seen one of her worst fears come true, the woman she loved did not return those feelings. She spent most of her time alone, and when the team went off-world, she'd try to keep her mind occupied with other things, even though that was harder than she had first thought. Every time she would look at Sheppard, the scene from the hallway flashed in front of her eyes. In the end, she had ended up at Rodney's side who had looked a little surprised at first but had settled in his usual walk and talk, albeit with a different audience by his side.

Teyla handed her weapons to the waiting marine, nodding gratefully as he took them from her. She was just about to disappear when someone called out to her from behind. She turned to see Elizabeth hurrying towards her.

"Teyla!"

"Dr. Weir, what can I do for you?" Teyla smiled politely.

"Nothing." Elizabeth shook her head. "But Lt. Cadman is waiting for you on the south pier. I don't know what she needs you for, but she did say it was urgent and that I should send you over there as soon as you got back from your mission."

Teyla frowned confused, suspecting the lieutenant had something really silly in mind and wanted to surprise her with it. It would be harder to get out from underneath it if she didn't know what it was the young marine wanted from her.

"I'm sorry. I asked her to be more specific but she cut off the transmission before I could finish my sentence." Elizabeth smiled apologetically.

"I will inform you later what it was." Teyla nodded and turned at once.

***//***

"She's coming! She's coming!" Novak skidded to a halt near the door. Laura smiled widely as she relayed that information to someone who was out of sight of the door.

"Well, that's our cue. Novak!" Laura signaled the doctor, who promptly had them beamed out of there.

Teyla arrived at an open door, where she noticed someone had left her a sign. An arrow pointed out, where another arrow pointed towards her left. She knew there was a small clearing there where she would sometimes sit down, just to relax and enjoy. It was shielded from the wind and the view was spectacular. She turned and followed the arrow's direction, arriving at her private spot which she noticed was one that others knew about as well, in particular one other. She blinked confused at the sight in front of her. A blanket was spread out over the ground, with several cushions around it and on it. Plates and glasses were set out, and a basket stood nearby.

"Happy birthday!" Teyla swirled around at the all too familiar voice. She came face to face with the one she thought she had lost forever to someone else.

"Kate?" Teyla frowned and blinked some more.

"Surprise." Kate bit her lip in anticipation, watching Teyla intently.

"You ... this... For me?"

Kate nodded. "I wanted to do something special for your birthday. I asked Elizabeth if I could have you alone for a while before they drag you off to your other surprise party." She winked conspiratorially.

"But... You and Colonel Sheppard... You kissed him." Teyla tried to get her brain to process this new development. "Laura said..."

"I'm sorry about that." Kate then tilted her head a little. "Hey, how do you know I gave him a peck on the cheek?"

"I saw you in the hallway several days ago." Teyla dipped her head, ashamed of her actions.

"He practically ordered me not to do that again." Kate chuckled. " He didn't want other people to think there was really something going on between us."

"There is not?" Teyla shook her head, as she finally caught up.

"No. No, he's most definitely not my type. No way. He's charming, I'll give him that, but definitely not the kind of person I would fall for."

"You are not romantically involved with him?" Kate shook her head, smiling, while Teyla sighed, relieved.

"I take it that's a good thing?"

"Yes." Teyla nodded. "A very good thing." She turned to the blanket and gestured towards it. "What is this?"

"It's a picnic." Kate quickly explained. "For your birthday." She walked towards the basket and sat down, motioning for Teyla to do the same. "I had the cooks prepare me something. Gave them a list with things I wanted, and since the Daedalus came by ... there's plenty of great things to be had, such as..." She rummaged around in the basket for a bit, and grinned widely as she found what she was looking for. "Strawberries."

Teyla smiled at the sight of the red fruit, which she had come to learn many of the expedition members were quite fond off. And that most liked it best in combination with chocolate.

"And chocolate." Kate grinned even wider. She set the two boxes down and then made for the bottle of champagne that was sitting on her other side. "I hope you like champagne. I know you tried it that one time, long ago, when we first met."

"I do." Teyla smiled, offering to open the bottle. Kate handed it to her and watched as the cork shot away. She held out two glasses and Teyla filled them to the top.

"A toast..." Kate held up her glass, thinking. "To you. To our friendship. And to what is yet to come."

"To what is yet to come." Teyla echoed as she raised her glass before taking a careful sip.

***//***

Teyla had enjoyed the picnic, listening to Kate talking about everything and nothing. They had finished everything in the basket but had left the bottle of champagne half-full. More fuel for later, Kate had said, already having a little more color than usual. Teyla had the feeling that alcohol wasn't exactly the other woman's best friend but she didn't let it get in the way of their enjoyment.

As promised, she had been dragged off to her other surprise party in the cafeteria where everybody else wished her the best and many happy birthdays yet to come. They had arranged for food, music and a big chocolate birthday cake. There was lots of popcorn too, Teyla's favorite Earth treat.

***//***

Later in the evening, the crowd grew merrier, and by the time midnight rolled around the corner most were too drunk to know where their quarters were. Athosian wine came with a twist and a killer headache in the morning.

Teyla walked outside, onto the balcony; in search of Kate whom she had lost track of earlier. She hadn't drunk much, but she could feel the effects take hold of her nonetheless. The combination of champagne and Athosian wine would most certainly come back to bite her in the ass later, but for now her body was still at peace with itself. She smiled as she found Kate watching the moon above the ocean. Teyla was surprised how remarkable sober she looked, though the moment the other woman heard her coming and turned, she swayed a little. She shot forward and managed to avoid having to pick Kate up from the floor.

"Turned around too fast." Kate smiled. "Two glasses of champagne have that effect on me, I guess." Teyla frowned, tilting her head a little. "That's all I had today. I swear." She held up two fingers in scout's honor.

"I believe you." Teyla said, half jokingly. She hadn't let go yet and Kate didn't seem to mind that too much.

"Did you enjoy your surprise party?" Kate absentmindedly trailed feather light lines up and down Teyla's arms as she gazed at the other woman's face.

"I did. Thank you."

Kate shook her head. "Don't thank me. This was all Colonel Sheppard and Ronon's doing. Oh... I almost forgot." She searched her pockets and frowned confused as she couldn't find what she was looking for, until she noticed her jacket hanging over a chair nearby. "I almost forgot your gift." She pulled a small velvet box from the pocket and handed it to Teyla, who curiously turned it around. "Come on, open up."

Teyla slowly opened the box, revealing a silver necklace and a small pendant in the shape of a sun and moon entwined with one another. She pulled it out and set the box down on a nearby table, holding the necklace up against the moonlight. "It's beautiful." She smiled. "Thank you." Teyla reached across the space between them and imitated Kate's action from the hallway, placing a soft kiss on the psychologist's cheek. She pulled back and tried it on, which resulted in Kate helping her out. Teyla, however, didn't give Kate a chance to pull back as she wrapped her arms around her body and briefly hugged her, resting her head on the woman's shoulder. "Thank you, Kate."

"You're welcome."

They pulled back from one another but remained in close proximity, their faces mere inches apart. Kate brought one hand up and touched Teyla's cheek, stroking it with her thumb. She held her eyes in a locked gaze before closing the distance and gently placed a light kiss on the other woman's lips, tasting the remnants of Athosian wine.

"To what is yet to come." Kate murmured as Teyla kissed her right back.


End file.
